Meme coin market "bull return": PENGU, BANANAS31, and WIF surge wildly, is a new round of altcoin season around the corner?

Bitcoin (BTC) has reached a historic high of $117,000, triggering a significant pump in a series of alts, with some memecoins and decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens experiencing daily gains exceeding 30%.

While the market is generally experiencing a pump, Ethereum is also showing strength. Driven by institutional interest and expectations for future network upgrades, the price of Ethereum has broken through the $2,940 mark.

This widespread optimistic sentiment in the market is especially effective for meme-based tokens, which often exhibit a high beta effect on overall cryptocurrency sentiment.

In the Solana ecosystem, several meme coins have performed the best, including Popcat (POPCAT) and Dogwifhat (WIF), with increases of over 15% and 13% respectively. Other notable increases include Snek (SNEK) on the Cardano network and MOG Coin (MOG) on the Ethereum network, both achieving double-digit percentage growth.

This momentum is not limited to small tokens; the project Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), rooted in the NFT space, has seen a pump of over 30%. On-chain data indicates a significant increase in the number of whale users for PENGU, coupled with a surge in demand from the Korean market and rumors surrounding its potential ETF application, which seem to be key driving factors behind its strong performance.

Another meme coin, Banana For Scale (BANANAS31), has surged over 26% due to a significant increase in trading volume, setting a new all-time high.

(Source: CryptoSlate)

Similarly, the price of the established DeFi lending platform Compound (COMP) has also increased by 11%. Its performance may be related to the recent governance proposals (especially Proposal 210 and Proposal 211). These proposals have received support from major stakeholders and aim to adjust the interest rate model and reward distribution to optimize platform yields. The total locked value of DeFi has steadily risen throughout the month, providing a favorable backdrop for tokens in the sector.

Some tokens with specific utility narratives have also experienced strong growth. The liquidity re-staking protocol Ether.fi (ETHFI) has risen by over 16%. The project benefits from the ongoing growth of the re-staking sector, which is the dominant narrative for 2025, and supports its token price through a revenue-sharing model that funds token buybacks.

The decentralized payment and infrastructure protocol Zebec Network (ZBCN) on Solana has surged over 20%. The project recently acquired the compliance and automation platform Gatenox, positioning itself favorably in the fields of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) and Real-World Assets (RWA).

One exception on the list is ai16z (AI16Z), which saw a pump of 12%. Although some analyses indicate that the overall trend of this token is bearish, the short-term increase has made it one of the best-performing tokens of the day, yet its price still surged significantly.

This increase reflects the market being driven by factors such as Bitcoin's record performance, a resurgence of interest in Decentralized Finance, and renewed interest in high Beta altcoins.